Cameras and Camcorders

Sony To Supply 8-Megapixel Camera For 2011 iPhone?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 13, 2010 | 11 comments

The Street is currently reporting that for the 2011 iPhone, Apple will be dumping its current partner, OmniVision. This company has provided all of the current iPhone cameras, including the current 3.2 megapixel for the iPhone 3GS and has a supposed order for a 5 megapixel for the upcoming iPhone.

Hello Sony(SNE), goodbye OmniVision(OVTI). Apple has picked Sony’s 8-megapixel camera chip for the 2011 iPhone, according to supply and manufacturing sources, said Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar.

I wont really get into what this entails for Apple and iPhone customers since we’re not an Apple site, but this has some serious positives for Sony. It’s no secret that in the last few years, Sony has lost ground both on consumer sales and component sales to Samsung. Samsung has done a great job of advertising their products while Sony has not and people have floated over to their brand. But that’s not all; in the component world, Samsung is supplying Flash chips which has been a huge and ever-growing segment of products. Portable devices such as the iPhone, the iPad, the Zune, and the PSPgo now use Flash memory. If Sony can land more manufacturing deals, especially with a high volume product like the iPhone, then this can significantly help the much needed cash flow of Sony. Heres to hoping it’s true; as of now, it’s just speculation.

Sony Introduces New HandyCam NXCAM with E-Mount system

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 3, 2010 | 6 comments

Although not to be released until the first half of 2011, which means there is still room for potential tweaks, Sony has introduced their new Super 35mm equivalent CMOS HD camcorder. The camera is targeted for high-end digital cinema production that uses the “E-mount” lens system, specifically the NXCAM series. Currently, Sony’s own NEX-3, NEX-5 and HandyCam NEX-VG10 also utilize the E-mount lenses. This gives the user flexibility to interchange between different cameras while using the same lens. The NXCAM can record video in AVCHD 1080p ((60P/30P/24P or 50p/25p) or in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264. No word yet on pricing, but it’s not meant for the faint of heart, so don’t expect a small price tag.

Official Press Release

Sony Alpha A500 Coming?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 8, 2009 | 5 comments

If the above screenshot is any indication, Sony is looking to add to their ever expanding lineup of DSLRs with a new 500 model. With Sony’s current Alpha series, Sony is able to cover a wide range of consumer needs, from the more consumer oriented, to the professional. One weak point in the current lineup is the lack of any DSRL with HD Video. Could the Alpha 500 be that model? More so, does the Alpha 500 even exist or is this screenshot from SonyStyles Canada page really a mistake or just a place holder? Time will tell, my dear Watson…

[Via Photorumors]

Sony A900 Sheds Some Skin

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 13, 2009 | 21 comments

So this is just a pretty cool shot of the Sony A900 (own the A100 myself and im indeed in love with these cameras, although my dad leaned towards the Nikon D90X). So this is what the camera looks underneath…yet on the on the outside at the same time. An Engadget poster said it best about this Exoskeleton, “Smile for me if you want to live”.

“Intelligent Auto Mode” comes to the Cybershots

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 18, 2009 | 10 comments

Sony is bringing what it calls “Intelligent Auto Mode” to a few of the upcoming cybershots (T900, T90, W290 and H20). With this mode on, the camera will be detecting the scene conditions and adjusting your camera settings for the best possible shot which is very different from the Auto mode which more or less, just makes sure your camera is on. This should be a great feature as more and more people are running around with digital camera’s now, but don’t know how to truly utilize all of its features yet. The best part yet, this feature starts on camera’s from the mid $200 range and above, so no heft price tag is needed to obtain it.

As always, hit the MagicGate for a full press release.

MagicGate!

Face Detection Comes to the HDR-CX12 AVCHD

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 26, 2008 | 90 comments

Ive long been a fan of the Sony camcorders, owning all be it a much older unit myself and am indeed looking for a new one (eh? what do you think Sony? Accidently shipping one to my house would be much appreciated) and of course, my recent purchase of the Sony T400 during my trip to Japan. Now one of the most impressive features about the T400 is the face detection, to the point that the unit will find faces on billboards and on TV. With such an advantagous feature, it looks like Sony is going for round two, introducing it into their camcorder lineup.

Meet the HDR-CX12 AVCHD. Boasting :

1,920 x 1,080 AVCHD (1080i) video from a 10 megapixel ClearVid 1/3.13-inch CMOS sensor,
BIONZ image processing,
image stabilized Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T 12 optical zoon lens,
a 2.7-inch LCD,
5.1 surround sound mic,
and Memory Stick PRO Duo (4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark2) in the box) storage (that’s nice of them, now if the PSP only did that…better yet, where is the built in Hard Drive!)

But like we said, what makes this unit even more impressive is the Smile Shutter technology, giving you the capability to even prioritize by children or adult. This should be a nice feature for those who just turn on their camcorder and begin to film, allowing the camera to use its image stabilize and now Smile Shutter to keep your subjects in focus. Look to find these guys hitting stores in August or online now for $900.

Hit the MagicGate for a video presentation.

MagicGate!

Advertising Bliss: Sony Foam City

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 10, 2008 | 34 comments

This has to be by far one of the most amazing advertising campaigns ive seen. Both visually and inspirationally. Sony in Miami designed the worlds largest foam machine that custom build for the shoot, making a total of 120 million gallons of bubble. That’s 500,000 gallons per minute. The commercial premises was to give all the locals Sony Camera’s ranging from Alpha DSLRs, Cyber-Shots and Handycams and allow them to experience this event and produce their own footage. Now the armature footage itself was not used for the commercial, but it will be posted on Sony’s online gallery.

Hit the magic button to take a look at the behind the scenes for this amazing shoot.

MagicGate!

Sony Ericsson To Bring Wi-Fi and More To Digital Cameras

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 4, 2008 | 1 comment

According to a new patent, if Sony can have their way, were going to be having more options then just built in Wi-Fi or Eye-Fi cards. This comes in the form of offering both built in or card or attach on accessories with GSM, CDMA, WiMAX in addition to the already available Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options. This means that the minute your camera is in your home network, you can begin to transfer your pictures to your computer without needing to hunt down a USB cord or taking the card out and inserting it into your card reader. With built in Wi-fi, this can also open up the possibilities of directly publishing your photos (current iPhone and .Mac users can publish photos directly to their Web Gallery) or being able to email out photo’s without the need of a computer. The less cords, the happier I am so sign me up for this but this better damn happen cause I signed up for flying cars by the year 2000 and I still cant get 25MPG!

OLED Coming To Sony’s Pro HD Camcorders

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 24, 2008 | 7 comments

Those who are working in the broadcasting field are about to get a nice upgrade as Sony is bringing its OLED screens to the viewfinders of the new HDVF-EL100. The 11 inch, 960 x 540 pixel screen is designed to accept wide angles and deep contrast rations, in order to help operators achieve the accurate focusing thats required for HDTVs. Pro cameramen rejoice as having done 2nd AC work, its nice to look at something thats accurate and not have to rely on the control room or studio village.

[Via Sony]

Sony TG1 Ss The Worlds Smallest HD Camcorder

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 15, 2008 | 1 comment

Called the HDR-TG3E in Europe (but HDR-TG1 everywhere else), this little guy is able to boast an astonishing 1080i picture while being small and light weight. All this achieved with no loss in quality as the body is made from Titanium to achieve its lightweight factor. Not only that but the unit ships with a 4GB Memory Stick Duo witch is rare when a camera is packed with media, let alone a nicely sized one in this case. The camera also seems to show no sign of compression artefact’s. Few other tidibits about the TG1, the unit contains built in flash, touch screen buttons and boasts a dock for charging/USB connection and has HDMI Out. Hit the link to get a full review and video preview of the camera from Tracy & Matt.

[Via Tracy&Matt]